Whatever you do, don't call this number back

SUNSHINE Coast residents have been warned of a sophisticated Central African phone scam which could cost them dearly.

Queensland Police Senior Sergeant Steve Smith said people had started receiving calls two nights ago from a number based in Cameroon.

The 'call-back scam' involved an extremely short call at times of great inconvenience, giving little or no opportunity to answer the phone.

When the receiver of the missed call dials back, they start to be stung with international premium call rates as the scammers have set up a toll number.

Often originating in the countries with the highest toll rates, the fees are split between the scammers and the telephone company.

The scam has drained prepaid credit users, while postpaid mobile phone owners have seen their next phone bills skyrocket after being stung by one of the scammers.

The call-back scam circulated New Zealand in April this year, and was dubbed the 'Wangiri scam', meaning 'one ring and cut'.

SCAM: The dodgy Cameroon phone call scam in operation at present.Queensland Police Service

Snr Sgt Smith said the person on the other end of the line often employed various tactics to keep the target on the line as long as possible.

He said they were often told they'd won large sums of money, that family members had died or been seriously injured, even exposed to sexual conversations, to try and keep the victim on the line as long as possible, in doing so maximising the cost of the call.

Police do not believe the scam has compromised personal details or phone numbers, but is being driven by an automated process generating phone numbers.

"It is expected that very large numbers of these scam calls could be made as a result," Snr Sgt Smith said.

He warned people not to call back the number if identified as from Cameroon, and similarly, don't call back other international numbers if they don't recognise the number.

He said another SMS scam was currently in operation, with text messages being sent offering chances to win Woolworths gift cards, often referring to the recipient by their name of nickname.

The recipient can then be tricked into downloading a Trojan horse, virus or malware through their phone or mobile device, if they open the link.

Snr Sgt Smith advised not to reply to messages from unknown callers and never to respond to anything immediately.

"Never click on links in emails or messages sent to you by unknown sources," he said.

Scams can be reported through the Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting Network (A.C.O.R.N) and up-to-date scam advice is available via Scamwatch.